Consumer appreciation of a shark-free eco-label for small pelagics

Abstract

PurposeThe objective of this study is to assess if Italian fish consumers are sensible to shark protection and if they would contribute paying more for small pelagic fishes coming from fisheries that are certified as “shark-free”.Design/methodology/approachContingent valuation is used to estimate willingness to pay with a double approach, including a dichotomous choice and an open-ended question. Inconsistency between the two answers is allowed. This allows the correction of two sources of bias (i.e. preference uncertainty and anchoring effect) and has permitted that the two estimation methods converged to the same result.FindingsConsumers show interest for the “shark-free” label. Premium price is estimated at +26%. Variables affecting willingness to pay (WTP) in the sample are age, income, environmental attitude, knowledge of organic labels and frequency of small pelagics' consumption. Results need to be confirmed by a replication on a larger (probabilistic) sample and with a different distribution of bids.Originality/valueEcosystems provide different benefits to humankind, including non-use services, such as the satisfaction to know that a species is well conserved. Generally, appreciation is higher for what are considered charismatic species. In this paper, the authors investigate if sharks can be considered charismatic species despite their “bad reputation”. The interest in shark survival is measured indirectly using a “shark-free” label on a commercial species like anchovy, allowing to increase the value added of this low-price species.

Determinants affecting consumers' attention to fish eco-labels in purchase decisions: a cross-country study

“…Analysing the intention of Danish consumers to buy seafood with the MSC label, Thogersen et al (2010) found that "individuals attend selectively to aspects of the environment that are relevant for the fulfilment of their needs or reaching their goals" (p. 1081). This result is consistent with the research by Mulazzani et al (2021) study, according to which even though Italian consumers are not aware of seafood ecolabels due to their low diffusion, they are willing to pay a premium price for a shark-free ecolabel in relation to their environmental attitude and knowledge of organic labels. Aware of the key power of consumers in activating social change to ensure complete sustainability in the fish industry, Garcia-Herrero and co-authors (2019) invited scholars and industries to work more on strategies aimed at educating consumers.…”

Consumer Demand for Environmental, Social, and Ethical Information in Fishery and Aquaculture Product Labels

“…In particular, respondents who have a very low FAP consumption (never or less than once a year) or do not prefer wild or farmed products do not think ESE information should be mentioned on the label for FAPs. Consistent with this, Mulazzani et al (2021) found that a higher frequency of consumption is associated with a greater willingness of consumers to pay a premium price for certified products probably because they pay attention to the health and nutritional benefits (Murray et al, 2017). Other aspects that the consumer evaluates when buying FAPs, like the brand or quality labels or the origin of the product, were revealed to also have a positive impact.…”

“…Many studies have been focused on the consumer interest in fish ecolabels, especially on the recognition of this label (Taufique et al, 2016) and the willingness to pay for ecolabeled products (Thøgersen et al, 2010;Mulazzani et al, 2021). Ecolabels have been promoted by very diverse organizations and have been related to different specific or general aspects linked to sustainability.…”

“…Age has been identified as an element that influences the attention paid to ecolabels. Most of the studies found that young people are more concerned about products with ecolabels (Salladarré et al, 2010;Asche and Bronnmann, 2017;Mulazzani et al, 2021), but others like Galati et al (2021) show the opposite. These studies generally had a limited scope in terms of the geographic location (the country) and the type of products included in the study, which explains the heterogeneity of the results.…”

Exploring the antecedents of green and sustainable purchase behaviour: A comparison among different generations

“…We first developed an ordinary least squares regression model (Mulazzani et al, 2021) using the whole sample of 1068 respondents to address the relationship between age and the two dependent variables (green purchase behaviour and CSR purchase intention). This was done to test HP 1a and HP 1b.…”